(Soul)Mates
by typewriter91
Summary: Walking into the Leaky Cauldron that night had changed her life. It hadn't all been good; there'd been the accidental marriage, the case of the stolen sweaters, and that time she'd walked in on the guys in that compromising position... Yet, for all the ups and downs and tears and embarrassment, she wouldn't trade a chance to go through life with five soul mates for anything.
1. Prologue: Mates

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me and I am making no profit in the creation of this story.**

**AN: Thank you to my beta for this chapter wolfgirl!**

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Prologue: Mates

Once upon a time there'd been an unstoppable force of cheerfulness and laughter at a Weasley gathering. It'd been impossible to keep from smiling as Arthur discussed Muggle artifacts with anyone who'd listen and the twins set about making Ron turn a shade of red that was never before known to man. Molly would give everyone enthusiastic embraces whenever they popped into the kitchen to say hello and Remus would animatedly discuss various books with his former students in the sitting room – Mainly Hermione, though Harry and Ginny often humored him out of both kindness and respect.

The entire family, both those related by blood and connected by friendship, had made the Burrow a safe haven. Every moment spent there had been perfect, leading to some of the best memories Hermione had from her childhood. It'd always been a sore spot for her parents that she enjoyed her time at another household so dearly, but she couldn't help it; the Burrow had become her home in ways that even Hogwarts hadn't.

Times had changed, though. The happiness they'd all shared together in the Weasleys home over the years seemed to be a distant memory now. All the good times in the past were replaced by the remnants of war. Hermione sighed as she dropped her face into the palm of her hand where she sat on a bench in the garden looking into the kitchen of the Burrow.

It'd been two months since the war had come to an end. Enough time had passed for there to be a semblance of normalcy returning as people banded together to start repairing their world; however, all of those who'd survived were left as mere shadows of themselves. She wondered how long it would take for her to stop feeling surprised by the very fact of life every morning when she woke up. Sometimes it felt wrong to be moving on, however gradually it was happening.

This particular get together at the Burrow seemed to be Molly's attempt to rush the grieving process along a bit. Hermione watched sadly as the older woman bustled about the kitchen, opening various pots to taste their contents. She was playing a role she knew well, just without any of her usual vibrancy. Pre-War Molly would have been humming along to a nameless tune or slapping at one of her boys as they tried to nab an early bite of supper.

That was another missing piece of the puzzle; most of the remaining siblings were relaxing idly in the sitting room, chatting quietly to each other about the weather or some other dull topic that served as an icebreaker instead of actual conversation. Usually, there'd be a Quidditch match in the field out back or a round of laughter as they listened to a game on the radio. Never before had the house seemed so subdued. It was as if the whole property were being haunted by the past. Everyone tip-toed around each other, never voicing their feelings of how affected they were by the war. As if it were better to simply pretend it never happened, instead of dealing with the repercussions and trying to move on.

Hermione doubted any of their loved ones who'd died in the war would be happy to see how much life had been sucked from those who remained.

"You look about as bored to tears as I feel," a voice boomed from the direction of the orchard, causing Hermione to jump out of her skin and reach for her wand.

"Gods, Lee!" she exclaimed when she caught a glance of the offending man over her shoulder as he strolled into the beam of the porch light. Hermione clutched at her heart. "You should know better than to sneak up on someone like that!"

"Sorry, love, but the chance to hear your voice _sound like this_," he began, mimicking the high pitched timbre of her panicked voice perfectly, "Well, it was ever so worth it."

Hermione's face scrunched up indignantly and she was sure to deepen her voice out of spite. "I do _not_ sound like that."

"Now you don't," a new voice assured. "Now you sound like a man whose bollocks haven't dropped yet."

"This coming from the two men who were out strolling through the orchard together at night," she replied, turning to raise an eyebrow at George as he stepped out of the darkness right behind Lee. "It _is_ quite romantic. I'm so sorry for interrupting your date."

George smirked back at her. "Now, now. You know I'm not that type of bloke, despite how dashing this one is."

"Well, you never know with Lee. He says he's into women, but I don't think he has the self-control to resist sex no matter who it's with. And when he sets his mind to something, you'll bet he's going to shag it," Hermione grinned teasingly, nodding her head toward the dark-skinned man.

Lee put an outraged hand to his chest as his mouth dropped open dramatically. "How dare you, Hermione! You know I'm saving myself for you. No man or woman could change that."

She snorted unattractively. "Right. I believe you're a virgin about as much as I believe in the existence of Nargles."

"You don't believe in Nargles? Nasty buggers. Stole all my underwear," Lee said grimly, shaking his head in faux seriousness.

"That explains the virginity thing," George stated matter-of-factly. "No woman wants to shag a man who can't even keep track of his own underpants."

Hermione rolled her eyes at the two of them, trying and failing to resist a smile at their antics.

George beckoned her to scooch over then so that he and Lee could take the seats on either side of her on the bench. She did, enjoying the comfort of the two men as they slid snuggly against her and sat in silence for a long while. She'd never been very friendly with either of them, but had come to enjoy the times they'd bickered about one thing or another over the years. She'd only begun to truly appreciate them during the war, a time when their quirky exploits and humor were a respite from the darkness instead of an annoyance. She'd then had the realization that they were two of the cleverest men she'd ever met, especially George. She secretly suspected that he'd been the mastermind of all the pranks they'd played in school.

She tilted her head to the side, trying to observe him without being obvious. Tonight had been the first glimpse of his personality that she'd seen since Fred's death. She'd never been able to bring herself to ask how he was doing, just assuming the answer would be obvious. He'd lost his other half and bringing up that fact had always seemed insensitive. At least he had Lee to help him. The morning after the war, Lee had pushed frantically through the crowd of mourners in Hogwarts' Great Hall in order to pull George into a tight embrace. Watching the two men cry together had been one of the roughest moments Hermione had ever endured.

"Like what you see?" George asked suddenly, turning towards her and throwing his arm over the back of the bench. "You've been staring."

Hermione flushed. "I was just wondering how you've been doing."

Lee copied George's stance, but let his arm slide closer to Hermione and against her shoulders as if cautioning her about broaching the topic.

"I'm…" George had frozen a bit against her and she watched as his eyebrows furrowed when he tried to put his thoughts into words. "It's – It's been awful, but I'm getting there."

She nodded, offering a small smile. "I think we all are."

"It's what he'd want," the redhead shrugged, rubbing at the scruff on his jaw tensely.

"Slow and steady," Lee added supportively, reaching around her to bump George's shoulder with his fist. "Right now we've just got to focus on getting the rubbish out of the shop so we can open again."

"And bringing some life back to the house," Hermione said, raising her hand in the direction of the Burrow. "It's so depressing."

"First us, _then_ the house," George responded, standing suddenly and pushing up the sleeves of his blue button down as if ready to take immediate action. "We're never going to move on if we don't let ourselves have a bit of fun first. It's what Fred would have wanted."

Clapping his hands together and giving an energetic hoot, Lee stood as well. "I agree wholeheartedly! We've got to get out of here. Know what Fred _really_ would have wanted?"

"He'd want us all to smile, drink 'til we're piss drunk, and then get laid," Hermione supplied without thinking, causing both men to turn to her with wide smirks and cocked eyebrows. She'd like to think there was something resembling admiration in their eyes, despite her embarrassment. She reckoned she'd spent too much time alone with Harry and Ron over the last year.

"I wasn't going to put it quite so eloquently," Lee chuckled, reaching out a hand to drag her up off the bench and towards where they were standing. "But that's the basic premise, yes."

"Couldn't have said it better myself actually," George agreed, tugging on her ponytail playfully before jumping back as she swatted him away.

"Let's grab Harry, Ron, and Ginny too," Hermione said, liking the idea of a crowd. Besides, she didn't want to have fun without the others. They deserved a break from the aftermath of war just as much as anyone did. "They're in Ron's room right now."

"Perfect. Let's tell them and then head to the Leaky after supper," George said, his smile growing as the plan took shape. "It'll still be hours away from last call, plenty of time to get Miss Granger sloshed enough to sleep with me."

Hermione gave an outraged huff as he danced out of the way of the slap she'd aimed for the back of his head and made for the house.

Two long hours later she found herself squeezed in a familiar position between the bulky, tall frames of George and Lee in a booth at the back of the Leaky Cauldron. Across from them sat Harry, Ron, and Ginny, all whom had jumped at the chance to ditch the family gathering as soon as supper had ended and Hermione had clued them into their plans. Even Molly and Arthur had seemed happy when Harry had politely asked if it was alright for all of them to be excused. Hermione supposed the couple was just happy to see their kids in good-spirits for the first time in too long. Especially George.

"I needed this," Ginny sighed, dropping her head to rest against Harry's shoulder. "I can't remember the last time I had a drink."

"You're not _supposed_ to be having a drink," George said, a stern big-brotherly glare fixed on his face.

Ginny merely raised an eyebrow. "I'll be seventeen in less than two months."

George's face relaxed into a grin as he shrugged. "Eh, I'm sure Tom couldn't care less either way and let's face it, could you be in better company?"

"Damn straight," Ron agreed, raising his pint. "Let's make a toast!"

Harry laughed as all six of them raised their glasses and pressed them together in the air between them. "How about: To actually having fun!"

"Hear, hear!" Lee roared, drawing the attention of other pub-goers.

"Wait, no!" George stopped them before they could clink their glasses together and chug. He wrapped an arm around Hermione's neck and tugged her into his side. She quickly lowered her pint before the beer could go all over the place. "In the words of my favorite Prefect –"

"Hey!" Ron interrupted, also lowering his glass. "_I_ was a Prefect and I'm your brother."

"You're not as pretty," Lee argued back with a playful leer at Hermione.

"As I was saying," George continued, jerking his pint to regain everyone's attention. They all resumed the position of their toast. "In the words of my absolute favorite Prefect, the woman who is far better than all other Prefects I know: To smiling, getting piss drunk, and getting laid!"

Hermione gave a bark of laughter and chimed in as everyone, including Ron, echoed the sentiment, clinked their glasses together, and then took a long swig. It would be the first of many toasts they'd make both that night and in the coming years. It'd also be the first time they'd close the pub down together, which later became a tradition with Tom often throwing them the keys and telling them to lock up whenever they left.

That was a few years in the making, though. For that first night, they just set about fulfilling Hermione and George's toast. They laughed so hard tears ran down their faces and got piss drunk. Hermione was sure they could have also fulfilled the last part of the toast, but she found that they were too content in each other's company for that. Instead, the six of them spent the entire night learning how to have fun and move on… together.

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**AN: Thank you for reading! An idea came to me while binge-watching television shows like ****_Friends _****and ****_How I Met Your Mother. _**** I got to thinking about how traumatizing events can bring us closer together to the people around us, which led me to thinking about how the war would impact the younger Weasleys and their friends. This story is the result. Review and let me know what you think!**

**-Amanda**


	2. Chapter 1: Three Years Later

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me and I am making no profit in the creation of this story.**

**AN: Thank you to my beta, wolfgirl! You're the best Ellie!**

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Chapter One: Three Years Later

Hermione burst into the Leaky Cauldron with the force of a wild Bludger. The day had seemed so innocently beautiful earlier when she'd left her flat, grabbing an umbrella to protect her from the light, playful rain that was so typical of this time of year. She'd always enjoyed early spring when Diagon Alley was coming back to life after the chill of winter. She liked the misty spring showers before summer took hold. Yet, no amount of seasonal love could make up for what may have been the worst date she'd ever been on.

She forced herself to take deep, calming breaths in an effort to relax before moving through the crowded pub to get to her friends.

"Whoa," was all Lee said in response to her entrance, stretching out the word as he slid down the bench to make room for her at their usual booth. He was watching her wearily, as if wondering whether or not she was about to blow. Hermione didn't think she could blame him; she'd never been so embarrassed and so angry in her life. She was sure she looked like a crazy person as the strange mixture of emotions left her feeling flushed and ready to hit something.

"I'd watch my words if I were you," she cautioned, glaring at him before plopping down and dropping her umbrella by her feet. "You may find yourself missing a beloved piece of anatomy."

"Careful with _your_ words, love. You know I get all hot and bothered when you say such sexy things," he teased, careful to keep himself as far from her as possible on the other side of the bench.

"I will kill you," she assured him gravely, enunciating clearly in case he hadn't understood the depth of her emotions the first time.

He flashed his teeth in a wide smile. "I'm so turned on by you."

"Stop being a prat, Lee. What's the matter, Hermione? " Ginny asked, leaning forward across the table with genuine concern.

Harry scratched at the back of his head. "Didn't you have that date with…? Er, what was his name again?"

Ron snapped his fingers together, searching his memory for their old schoolmate's name. "It was Andrew. Or Charles. No, Brandon!"

"And _you're_ the top students of your Auror class?" Lee asked, cocking his head to the side at the two men. "I'm concerned about the safety of the general public."

"It was something like Christopher," Harry continued as though Lee hadn't spoken. "Oh! It was Marcus!"

"That is _nothing_ like Christopher," Lee deadpanned.

"They're getting worse, not better," Ginny broke in disbelievingly, sharing a look with Hermione before rolling her eyes. "I have no idea why we keep them around."

"Like you're one to talk. Do _you_ remember his name?" Harry asked her, dropping his elbow onto the table so he could turn to her doubtfully.

"I do," Ginny insisted, flipping her hair over her shoulder primly. She bit her lower lip before glancing away. "It was Bla –"

"You don't want to finish that, darling," Lee chuckled. "That's not right either."

"It was _Anthony_," Hermione growled in annoyance, dropping her head against the seatback to look up at the ceiling. "Anthony Goldstein."

"I was close with Andrew," Ron shrugged.

"I don't know, I think Brandon was what really rang a bell," Ginny said seriously in response.

Hermione dropped her forehead onto the table with a loud thud. She squeezed her eyes shut against the cool wood and brought her arms up to cover her head. "I hate you all."

"What'd you do to Granger? Is she broken?"

She turned her head slightly at the sound of the new voice, peering up at George through her curls as he approached them. When her eyes caught his, he grinned roguishly and dropped a palm to slide through her hair in greeting. She blinked at the contact before lifting herself back up and pressing closer to Lee to make room for George in his usual spot. They always sat in the same seats at their table as they'd sat during that first trip to the Leaky three years ago. It was an unspoken tradition.

"Care to clue me in?" George asked, carefully reading Hermione's expression before shrugging off his coat and draping an arm behind her back. "Sorry I'm late, by the way. Had to clear the shop myself."

"Isn't it your job to help him?" Ginny asked, looking at Lee with a raised eyebrow.

Lee smirked innocently. "I'm more of a freelance worker."

"What my associate means to say is that he's a lazy sod who only works on days when Verity is around to look at," George corrected, flicking Lee's ear over Hermione's head. Lee immediately swatted back at him causing Hermione to pinch both men's sides in rebuttal.

"Sorry baby," George murmured, tugging softly on a stray curl of hers in apology. He rubbed at his wounded side with his free hand. "As I was saying, Lee only works when Verity is around to attempt to seduce. She doesn't work on Fridays, meaning he doesn't either. So I manned the shop alone today."

"I don't _attempt_ to seduce her," Lee argued, leaning forward and raising his hands up as if to clear the air of such blasphemy. "I'll have you all know that I haven't even tried to seduce Verity yet. I've just been laying the foundation. You know, _wooing_ her."

"I call bullshit," Harry announced immediately. "There's no way you haven't made a pass at her yet. It's against all laws of science and magic."

Ron snorted into his pint. "And even if by some act of Merlin himself you haven't, it still sounds pathetic."

"Seriously, mate. It's not a good sign if you have to spend _months _convincing a woman to shag you," Harry reasoned. "If she hasn't yet, she's never going to."

"That's not true," Hermione interjected. "It's not uncommon for women to want to wait before jumping into bed with someone. Some people like having an actual relationship with the other person beforehand. This may come as a surprise to you all, but men actually _do_ have to grow on a woman. It's not always lust at first sight."

"She's right, boys. Besides, who're you to talk Harry? We dated for a year and a half before I slept with you," Ginny finished, giving her boyfriend a no-nonsense glare.

George and Ron both groaned.

"Why must you always bring up shagging?" George asked.

"_You_ brought up shagging," Harry corrected.

"I brought up Lee's desire to shag Verity. That's a very specific brand of shagging," the older redhead argued.

"So we can talk about the shagging habits of everyone except Ginny and me?"

"Absolutely," George and Ron chimed together.

Lee took a swig of his beer before wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. "Let's venture past the fact that your sister and Harry go at it like rabbits, shall we?"

Ginny shook her head at them. "Yes, let's. Anyway, I think it's nice that Lee is trying to woo Verity slowly. This may be the longest a woman has ever held his interest. It's probably the closest to monogamy he'll ever get."

George gave a smug chuckle. "Oh Ginny, my naïve little sister. Lee's been shagging other women besides Verity. She only maintains his interest for as long as it takes for her to walk into his line of sight and then cross out of it," he declared, miming Verity's passage from one side to the other with his hand.

"I bet I can get her to sleep with me by the end of the summer," Lee grinned wickedly, unperturbed by the conversation. He sent Ginny a wink. "In the meantime, I saw this bird at Gringotts today with the perkiest –"

"Please don't finish that sentence," Hermione sighed, squeezing his knee in warning. "Save it for after Gin and I leave, if you must."

"But you leave when we leave," he whined, pouting at her.

"Exactly."

He stopped and pressed his lips together for a moment of thought. Then, coming to terms with the end of his story, he dropped a kiss to Hermione's temple. "Ah, the things I do for you."

"Yes, you show such restraint," Hermione responded sarcastically, her tired frown giving way to a small smile at his silliness.

"Now, tell us about your date 'Mione," Ginny urged with delight, glad to be back on track. "C'mon, we're curious."

"I didn't know you had a date tonight," George said in surprise, turning to look at Hermione as he scratched at his bad ear. "How was it? Lust at first sight?"

Hermione reached up to rub her shoulders in the hope of easing some tension as her mind went back to her time with Anthony. She covered her mouth with her hand after a moment, wondering if she should tell them. It was almost too embarrassing to be real.

"That bad, huh?" George asked, smiling brightly before waving to get Tom's attention behind the bar. He held up two fingers as his drink order. The barkeeper nodded his acknowledgment.

"Eelikdmuhface," Hermione blurted out suddenly from behind her hand, flushing a deep red. She figured she should just get it over with as quickly as possible. It wasn't as if she really could keep something from them anyway. Her friends had an uncanny skill for unearthing details of each other's lives whether they wanted to or not.

"Pardon?" Harry asked as they all gave a confused chuckle.

Hermione covered her face in mortification. "He. Licked. My. Face."

The admission was met with silence.

Tom came over and placed two pints on the table, one in front of George and the other in front of Hermione after George motioned for him to do so. As soon as the older wizard moved away, Ron, Harry, Ginny, George, and Lee gave an obnoxious roar of amusement.

"It's not funny!" Hermione exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "It was horrifying!"

"I think we need a bit of backstory," Ron chortled after a few long moments of nothing but their mirth.

"Well, we had dinner earlier and that was relatively normal enough. He's a bit boring but quite nice, which is why I said alright when he offered to walk me to the flat," Hermione explained, swatting at George when he continued to laugh as she spoke. "I reckoned the walk would be romantic. You know, sharing an umbrella through the rain and all that. Anyway, he walks me home and when we get to the stoop he goes in for the goodnight kiss. So I lean in for the peck, but he bypasses my lips and instead… he licks my face."

"How extensive was this lick?" Harry asked, leaning forward with a smile that was way too large to be supportive.

"Chin to cheek," Hermione mumbled, blushing as they all started snickering again.

"Wait a second," Ginny said, struggling to catch her breath. She wiped a tear from her eye before continuing, "Wasn't this your _second_ date with Anthony Goldstein?"

Biting her lip in humiliation, Hermione nodded. She took a moment to take three large gulps of the beer George had gotten her in an effort to chase away the memories.

"Well, did he do this the first time?" Lee questioned, nudging her with his elbow. "Give your cheek a good tonguing, I mean."

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut. "Yes."

"And you decided you wanted seconds?" George teased, turning fully in his seat to look at her with a gigantic smirk.

"I thought he knew I didn't like it after the first time and wouldn't do it again!" Hermione insisted wildly. "I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt!"

"How'd that work out for you?" Harry tittered, trying and failing to sound serious.

Hermione huffed before grumbling miserably, "He told me _I_ was a bad kisser."

That was the last of the conversation, because all of her friends were immediately lost in their laughter at the hilarity of the tale.

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Hermione was sloshed, which was made obvious as she stumbled out of the Leaky after her friends at around three o'clock in the morning. After they'd finished teasing her, they'd banded together and spent the remainder of the night buying her enough drinks to put Anthony from her mind completely. Lee'd even been kind enough to valiantly offer to snog her senseless to prove she wasn't the bad kisser her date had said she was. Ginny dragged him off to the bar by his ear as soon as he went in for the kill.

Now, the group paused outside the pub so that Harry could lock up after them with the keys Tom had offered them a few months ago. The elderly man had realized it was easier to let them leave when they were good and ready to, instead of staying up waiting for them or kicking them out early. It was in his financial advantage to let them all continue purchasing drinks well into the morning hours. Plus, he was getting too old to be staying up that late anymore.

"You good, baby?" George asked, sidling up to Hermione as she leaned heavily against the wall of the building. Harry was in the process of wrestling various keys into the keyhole, sure they were all exactly the same in his drunken state.

Hermione watched as Ginny plucked the keys from Harry's grasp and locked the door herself. "I'm good. Just tired," she answered, moving her eyes to George's so she could blink up at him sleepily.

"Let me walk you home," he urged, placing a hand on her arm. "And before you argue, I assure you that I am saying this because I _want_ to walk you, not because I feel obligated."

Hermione gave a knackered smile, reaching out to poke his chest. "You know me so well, sir."

"I'm a fast learner," he admitted with a dimpled grin. "I've heard your lecture on how you are _not_ a damsel in distress before."

"Many times," she corrected.

"True," he agreed before spinning back to the others. "Oi! Lee! I'm walking Granger home. See you back at the flat."

Hermione waved as Lee and Ron took off in the direction of their perspective homes. After the war, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had moved into a flat together in Diagon Alley. Once Harry and Ginny had started getting serious two years later, Ron offered to move out so that Ginny could move in. He'd reasoned that he was happy for the couple, but couldn't live in the same flat as them together. He'd insisted that it'd be too weird. So, now Hermione lived with Harry and Ginny while Ron lived in his own place. Lee lived above the shop with George.

George reached for Hermione's hand to drag her with him as he followed a few steps behind a wavering Harry as Ginny led him forward with an arm around his waist.

"Too fast," Hermione whispered, putting a hand to her forehead as her balance was thrown off.

"Sorry," George said, stopping long enough to wrap an arm around her and pull her against his side. He slowed his pace to help her along. She sighed her gratitude and snuggled against him as they began strolling through the foggy, wet streets of Diagon Alley. The air was still cool from the earlier rainstorm, so Hermione was content with the proximity.

"George, I've been thinking –"

"Surprise, surprise."

She glared up at him playfully before resting her head against his arm again. "I've been thinking that I'm ready to not date anymore."

"Sick of looking for lust at first sight?" George guessed, his hand on her hip as he looked down at her fondly.

She nodded, closing her eyes and trusting him to lead her home instead of to her death. "I'm sick of looking for lust at first sight and I'm sick of waiting for someone to grow on me. I hate dating. I'm bad at it."

"That's doubtful," he murmured.

"You're just saying that because you're my best friend," she objected. "Either way, I don't want to date anymore. I'm ready to find the right guy, settle down, and have a family."

"I know you are, baby," George breathed, kissing the top of her head and tugging her even closer. "I know you are."

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**AN: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I have to say that this plot-bunny has really inspired me. I'm very excited to be able to share it with you all! Also, if you haven't already, don't forget to pop over to my profile and take my poll. Please review and let me know what you think!**

**Amanda**


	3. Chapter 2: April Fools

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me and I am making no profit in the creation of this story.**

**AN: Thank you to my beta wolfgirl for the feedback with this chapter! **

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Chapter Two: April Fools

"You're an evil genius," Lee muttered in awe as he looked over the object Hermione currently held out for his approval. "He's going to love you even more than he already does."

Hermione flushed, giving in to the wide smile that was begging to burst forth. She was quite proud of her creation. It wasn't often that she allowed herself to surrender to Lee's desperate desire for her help with pranks. She'd only relented this time for George's sake and she was excited to show the ultimate prank critic what she'd come up with.

"I know," she said with a flippant shrug before placing the charmed hat down on a workbench in the back of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. "I'm already his best friend though. How much more can he possibly love me?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Lee sputtered. "_I'm_ George's best friend."

"Sure you are, sweetie," she dismissed, patting his cheek. "I'll put that on a tee-shirt for you, just to be clear."

"I don't think I appreciate your tone," Lee admonished, kissing her forehead before strolling back towards the shop to man the floor.

"Wait! I want him to see it. Where is he?" Hermione called after him.

"Where do you _think_ he is?" Lee raised his eyebrows at her over his shoulder before disappearing around a corner.

She reckoned it _was_ a silly question.

Today was George's twenty-fourth birthday. Hermione and Lee had been trying to come up with a prank that he'd appreciate for almost a month now; something to lessen his sadness. Every year they watched helplessly as his grief over Fred's death overshadowed a day that his friends wanted him to enjoy. They wanted him to clear his mind of his loss and focus on what he'd gained. He'd never forget Fred, but that didn't mean he couldn't celebrate the time they'd had together with those that loved him instead of wallowing on his own.

Hermione knew exactly where he was.

When she apparated over to the cemetery, she took a moment to look over the vast rolling hills lined with tombstones. The hurt at seeing the immensity of the field always took Hermione's breath away. The pain of the war was still raw and she reckoned it would be for many years.

Tugging her jacket closer to ward off the spring breeze, she quickly made the trek to the familiar patch of grass dedicated to Fred Weasley. She hesitated for a moment when her eyes fell on the large, starburst-shaped headstone. She had to take a deep, shaky breath before she approached it. Her eyes scanned over the inscription that George had picked out himself:

Fred Weasley

1978 – 1998

Beloved Son and Brother

_Always the Better Half _/ / _Mischief Managed_

"Hey handsome," she whispered, kissing the tips of her fingers before gently pressing them against the headstone. "Happy birthday."

After a moment of silence for her friend, she leaned around to look behind the large feature. She glanced down to see George in the grass sitting against the back of the slab. His knees were drawn up to his chest and his head was tilted to rest against the stone. His eyes remained shut despite her presence, leading her to wonder if she'd snuck up on him.

"Were you worried about me?" he asked quietly, answering her silent question. He opened his eyes, looking up at her with an expression that clearly showed his suffering. Her heart shattered for him and she dropped down to kneel at his side, reaching out a hand to cup his cheek.

"Always," she assured gently. "I love you, Georgie."

He exhaled forcefully before lifting his palm up to rest against the back of hers so that the contact was strengthened. "You know I hate it when anyone calls me that."

"You hate when anyone _else_ calls you that," Hermione corrected. It'd been a nickname that Fred used. She'd accidentally called him it for the first time not too long ago, and he'd shocked her by admitting that he liked when she said it. He found it therapeutic.

George gave a tired grin. "I let you get away with too much. It's making your ego insatiable."

"I guess you'll have to put me in my place then," she said impishly before freezing when George did. Gods that had sounded so flirty, _dirty_ even. She felt heat rise to her cheeks in horror. "I – I didn't mean it like that."

George surprised her by emitting a loud bark of laughter. He tugged her off her knees and closer to him. She fell forward, cradled against his body as he stretched his legs out so that she could lay down in the grass at his side. He drew an arm up to rest behind his head as a cushion and wrapped the other around her. "I didn't know you were into that sort of thing, Granger. How the hell are you still single if you're going around begging to be punished?"

Hermione buried her face against his chest. "I meant that you'd have to tell me to stop or tease me until I got over it. You know, like you usually do."

"Likely excuse," he murmured, resting his chin atop her head. "Thank you for coming to look for me, by the way."

"Yeah?" she replied with her lips against the sliver of jumper peeking out at his neck. "I'm not intruding?"

"You could never," George confessed, running a hand through her curls. "Besides, that's the first time I've laughed all day."

"It doesn't have to be that way," Hermione urged after a moment of hesitation. "Come back to the shop with me. Come out to dinner with the others. It would mean a lot to us, especially Ron and Ginny."

George didn't say anything in response for a very long while. He dropped a hand to her lower back and pulled her closer, his face falling to rest against her shoulder. Hermione shut her eyes at his embrace, finding comfort in her best friend as she'd done so often over the years.

After the war when their little group was formed, she'd begun to seek George out for support quite frequently. Of course Lee, Ron, Harry, and Ginny meant everything to her; however, it was George who she felt the deepest connection to. The others had their distractions, their lives both within their group and outside it. Hermione, on the other hand, was lost without them. They were what held her together when her life felt out of control. George seemed to be the only one who truly understood that. Maybe because he was the only one she allowed to.

"I wasn't with him when it happened," George announced softly, his face still hidden against her neck. "I should have been, but I wasn't."

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed. She ran a hand through the hair at the back of his head. "What do you mean?"

"Fred. I wasn't with him when it happened. _You_ were," he said, lifting his gaze to hers. The usually vivid green specks in his brown eyes were now dull. "I wish we could go back in time and trade places. I wish I could have stopped you from seeing it. I know it haunts you. And I wish I could have been there for him. Maybe if we'd been together, he'd still be here."

"Don't do that. You can't –"

George stopped her with desperate tears welling in his eyes as he raised his hands to run his thumbs over her cheekbones. He was begging her to understand. "Listen to me, baby. He broke his nose when we were nine after he'd gone out to play quidditch in the yard with Charlie and Bill without me. I cracked my head open on a rock when we were six and I went into the orchard alone to climb trees but fell out. I was away from him when I got my ear sliced off by Snape. And when he died, he was away from me. We were always invincible together. How could I have gone off without him in the middle of a bloody _war_?"

Hermione pushed away from his chest, guiltily raising her hand to brush away stray tears at his words. She hated herself for crying in front of him. "I'm sorry," she said with a broken gasp, covering her eyes with her palm. "I'm so sorry."

Startling her, George sat up so his back was resting against his twin's headstone again. He reached out to pull Hermione's hand from her face and then tugged her into his lap. His hand slid to her thighs to draw her sideways against his chest. She let herself give in to his embrace as she threw her arms around his neck, her cheek pressed to his as he rocked her soothingly and they lost themselves in the comfort of each other's arms. The sound of their shuddering breaths as tears overcame them became the only noise throughout the field.

It must have been a full hour later when Hermione finally forced herself to slide away from him. He blinked blearily as the movement disturbed him, both having dozed off in exhaustion at the emotional turmoil. He smiled at her warmly when his eyes found hers. "We fell asleep."

Hermione nodded, picking a leaf from her hair. "Not the most comfortable of places for a nap."

"That's just because my muscles are so hard. They're too firm and strong to be comfortable," George teased in a hoarse, sleep-worn grumble.

"Yes, you're such a stud," Hermione breathed, fanning her face theatrically. "It took all my willpower not to shag you right here."

George smirked at her. "That's one birthday present Fred would have loved."

"That's something you will _not_ be getting from me today," Hermione laughed, reaching out to take the hand he'd offered to help her stand. "I do have a present for you, though."

"Is it shiny?" he asked, brushing blades of grass of her and then himself.

She gave a helpless giggle as his fingers tickled her sides. She pushed him away. "You'll just have to come see. If you're ready to go, that is."

George rubbed his bad ear absently, a nervous tick of his. Hermione watched as he roamed around to the front of Fred's headstone, staring intently before breaking into a relaxed grin. "I've got to go, Freddie. Granger's got a birthday present for me. You understand, don't you? You love Hermione. She's got the sexiest –"

"George!" Hermione gasped disbelievingly. "You can't talk to him like that! You're disturbing his peace."

"She doesn't know you at all, does she?" he said in a fake whisper that Hermione could hear completely. "She doesn't know that sexy birds are your catnip. Anyway, happy birthday Freddie. Give 'em hell up there for me. I'll be back to visit soon."

After placing his hand to the headstone for a heavy moment, he turned to face her. She sent a parting smile towards Fred before reaching out for his hand and apparating them both to the backroom of the joke shop. The moment that his feet hit the floor, George was bustling about the room grabbing items from all over for a purpose only he knew. Hermione watched him, happy that the sadness of their time together could be persevered through. George would always be haunted by his grief, but it was nice seeing him move on as best he could.

"Whatever you're doing, stop," Hermione said, reaching out to halt his busy movements as her eyes fell to the nearest clock. "We've only got fifteen minutes before we're supposed to meet everyone for dinner."

"I need to close down," George replied, dropping everything that was in his hands and then crossing his arms. "I love you baby, but I've got work to do."

"Well _baby_," she teased, her voice deepening in a poor imitation of his, "I actually took care of that. Lee closed down, Ron did inventory, and I completed the potions that were ready to be taken off the fire and vialed."

George chuckled. "I appreciate the order of those assignments."

"You didn't expect me to let Ron or Lee handle explosive potions, did you?"

"No, I suppose not," he admitted. "So, about that present…"

Hermione clapped her hands in excitement before making her way over to where she'd left the hat earlier. "You're going to love this!"

She held out the hat to him with an expectant smile that she'd practiced in the mirror earlier. She knew George had a soft spot for her, so she intended to play on that as much as possible to get the blasted thing on his head. She forced a hopefully bright expression onto her features as she beckoned him to take it.

George's hand hovered just short of the hat's brim for a moment, a look of dread blooming across his face before he could hide it. Hermione had to covertly pinch her arm to keep from laughing at him. Finally he picked it up. "Mischief Managed," he read aloud, looking at the horrid, sparkly green script that spelt out the words he'd always lived by. The saying shined out from material that flashed the various colors of the rainbow. Even for someone who was used to wearing loud clothing like George was, the hat was horrible.

Hermione bit her lip as if anticipating his disappointment, internally patting herself on the back when George's attention was drawn to the motion. "Do you like it? I know it's not much but…"

"It's perfect," he insisted immediately, cutting her off with a kiss to her cheek. "Thank you."

"You'll wear it to dinner?" she asked eagerly, picking up the hat and placing it on his head for him. She made sure to tuck it down as much as possible over his skull, tilting the brim so that the top of his eyebrows were covered too.

He seemed to resign himself to his future embarrassment before he shrugged and nodded. The affectionate stare that he always got when he was amused by something she did overtook his face. She suspected he thought she was absolutely mad for thinking the gift was nice. She couldn't help but chuckle behind her hand as she looked at him. She reckoned he must really love her to hold back comments about the monstrosity.

Her insides warmed a little. "Are you ready to go?"

Minutes later, they were strolling into the Leaky Cauldron together. The others spotted them as they walked through the door and immediately burst into a round of "Happy Birthday." George took it graciously. It was the first time he'd allowed anyone to sing for him since his last birthday with Fred.

As the pair walked to their table, Hermione caught Lee's eye. He was sporting an absurdly smug grin as he ogled George. He gave a proud wink which she returned, happy she'd managed to pull it off. Her ideas were usually flawless, but she frequently botched the execution. Not that she could really take credit for getting him into the hat. She figured her piss poor pranking ability in the past was what had his guard down enough to think nothing of it.

"Nice hat, brother," Ron laughed, standing to hug George.

Ginny was next, wrapping her arms around him. "Where'd you get that –?"

"Wonderful thing?" George interrupted, trying to spare Hermione's feelings.

"I gave it to George for his birthday," she announced innocently.

Harry gave her a bizarre look. "Really?"

"Well, let me try it on!" Ginny begged playfully. "I want to wear the walking sign for abstinence."

George opened his mouth to defend the gift again, but was stopped by both Hermione and Lee's shouts of protest. He watched as Hermione's hand reached out to swat Ginny's when she went to remove the hat from her brother's head. George pointed a finger back and forth between Hermione and Lee thoughtfully before his eyes widened and he ripped the offending material off.

"Bloody hell," Ron gaped at George.

"What did you do?" George demanded, taking a step towards Lee.

The man jumped away to cower behind Hermione. "I'm sorry mate, I can't understand what you're saying. I'm too distracted by the delightful way the light is hitting your head."

Everyone burst into laughter, unable to hold it in any longer.

George ran a hand over his scalp and turned to look into the mirror above the bar. His face froze in shock. He was bald. Better yet, he was bald with the top halves of his eyebrows missing. He looked like a character out of a fairy tale, and not the good kind.

"It's not fair having Granger do your dirty work for you," he groaned, pointing the hat at Lee. "You knew I'd never expect it from her."

"Actually," Hermione began sheepishly, torn between feeling cocky and feeling guilty, "It was _my_ idea and _my_ dirty work."

"This was _you_?" George's gaze flew to hers in surprise. She nodded and bit her lip worriedly; maybe she'd been wrong to think a prank would help him get through the day. Fortunately, she was spared her panic a moment later when he softened, finally giving in to a chuckle. "You minx, I didn't know you had it in you."

"Serves you right for underestimating me," she bragged in relief, leaning over to kiss his shiny head. "By the way, the hat has a minor jinx on it. You can't grow your hair back by any magical means."

George sighed. "Of course not."

"Happy birthday _baby_," she taunted as they all slid into their booths to celebrate the day together for the first time. "Oh, and April Fools."

* * *

**AN: We already know the friends can have fun together, but this was my way of seeing the many layers of their friendship. It's not always about going out and having a fun time. I focused on George and Hermione, because the bond they share is so sweet. I'm going to delve some more into Hermione's quest for a soul mate in the next update :) Let me know what you thought! Please review! Lastly, remember to vote in my profile poll for your favorite pairings.**

**Amanda**


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